Most were ageless, different, perhaps, but essentially all the same in the eyes of their captors, who laughed and pushed them forward, ever forward. They walked. The group joined others, and more joined them until they were a mass, a great wave. Were there twenty, a hundred? No one took the time or had the inclination to count. Just forward, one step in front of the other, all silent, with brains that had long ago stopped thinking and hearts that, despite their desires, would not cease.
